Harp-harness.



M. A. CLARK.

HARP HARNESS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5, 1912.

1,133,615. Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

2 SHBETS-SHEET 1.

M. A. CLARK.

HARP HARNESS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 5, 1912.

1,133,615. Patented Mar.30,1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

2 QE Z E a? f "nal vertical sectional view through the rear UNITEDSTATES PATEN T OFFICE.

MELVILLE A. CLARK, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

HARP-HARNESS.

Application filed January 5, 1912.

- To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MELVILLE A. CLARK,of'Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Harp- Harness, of which thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is afull, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in body supports forharps for supporting relatively small sized harps upon the body of theplayer.

The main object is to provide simple means for attaching the harp to thebody in such manner as to support the harp firmly in playing positionindependently of any external supporting means so as to readily respondto various rapid movements of the body as in walking, dancing or othermovements without liabi ity of displace- 'ment and atthe same timepermitting freedom of movement of all parts of the body leaving thehands free for manipulation and turning of the strings with even greaterfacility than when supported in the usual manner.

One ofthe specific objects is to provide the harp with a body bracecapable of holding the harp the desired distance from the body and atthe same time bracing it against undue lateral swaying movement and inconnection with the body loop serves to hold the harp in playingposition at substantially rightangles to the front of the body.

. Another object is to enable the harness to be easily and quicklydetached from the harp and body so that the harp may be used in theusual manner when desired.

A still further object is to provide the base of the harp with anon-slipping leg rest attachment for engaging the leg and supporting theharp thereon when the player is in a sitting posture.

Other objects and uses will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings-Figure l is a perspective view of a harp and harnessattachment in operative position upon the body of a player. Fig. 2 is anenlarged longitudi- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915. Serial No. 669,572.

side of the harp column and adjacent portions of the harness inoperative position thereon, the'lower end of the base supporting strapbeing shown in section. Fig. 3 is a still further enlarged verticalsectional view of the upper end of the body brace shown in Fig. 2. Fig.a is a top plan of the portion of the body brace shown in Fig. Fig. 5 isa perspective view of the detached body brace. Fig. 6 is a perspectiveview of the upper attaching end of the body loop. Fig. 7 is an invertedplan of the lower end of the body loop and adjacent portion of the harpbase showing the means for adjustment of the loop to bodies of differentsize. Fig. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the detached legengaging pad for the base of the harp. Fig. 9 is a longitudinalsectional View of the same pad and adjacent portion of the harp base.Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view of a leg pad and harp baseshowing the hinge connection for permitting relative tilting movement ofthe base and leg pad. Fig. 11 is a transverse sectional view of amodified form of attaching means for the leg pad to the harp base.

This harp support comprises a body loop 1, a body brace 2- and a leg pad-3-, the body loop preferably consisting of a flexible strap of leatheror other suitable material of sufficient length to pass from the upperfront of the shoulder around the back and waist and return to the frontof the body for attachment to the upper and lower portions of the harpas A in a manner presently described.

The harp is provided with the usual hol low column having its rear sideformed with a series of openings a for the exit of the sound waves fromthe sounding board, thus forming lower, intermediate and upper crossbars or shoulders a.

The upper front end of the body loop 1 terminates in a hook-shapedfastening device 4 preferably of metal and of such dimensions as toreadily pass through the opening a and engage with the upper shoulder aas shown more clearly in Fig. 2.

The lower end of the body loop 1-- is provided with an adjustablesection 5 connected thereto by a buckle -6 to permit the body loop to bereadily adjusted to different sizes of harps or to difierent individualplayers, the section 5- terminating in a metal clasp 6 having akey slot7 for the reception of a headed pin or stud 8 on the underside of thebase of the harp near its rear edge, thus permitting the lower end ofthe body loop to be easily and quickly attached to or detached from theharp.

The body brace 2 comprises a laterally elongated bar or plate 9 which iscurved longitudinally to conform as nearly aspossible to the frontportion of the body of the player against which it is adapted to restandis provided with forwardly divergarms -10 and 1l having hookshaped.extremities 12- and 13 for interlocking. engagement with the lower andintermediate bars a' of the harp.

The hooks l, 12- and 13- con- I stitute attaching members for supporting,harpfrom each other, I have provided the upper arm -11- with a movablecatch -14 which, in this instance, is journaled on the hook 13 and isadapted to be moved to and from a position across the upper side of theadjacent bar a by means" of a finger piece 15 as best seen in Figs. 2, 3and 4:. 7

It is now clear from the foregoing description that when the body loop-l and brace -2- are properly adjusted on the body, the body loop servesto support the weight of the harp, while the body brace serves to holdit in proper relation to the body, leaving the arms free to manipulatethe strings in the usual manner, and at the same time permitting theplayer to move about with more or less rapidity while playing withoutliability of displacing the harp from its playing position. The same isalso true when the player is in a sitting position except that undersuch conditions, I prefer to rest the weight of the harp upon the legsand in order to prevent lateral slipping of the harp upon the legs Ihave provided the pad .3' which is preferably hinged for swingingmovement to the underside of the base of theharp column.

is secured at one end by a screw 22 to the underside of the base of theharp, the

opposite end of the hinge pin being free to permit the bearing -20 toslide thereon for removal or replacement of the pad.

In Fig. 11 I have shown a similar pad.

-3 omitting the bearing 20 and hav-' ing its section 16 slidablyinterlocked with a stationary loop 23 on the under side of the base ofthe harp, said loop being preferably secured to said base in an inclinedposition through the medium of an interposed wedge-shaped member --2 lwhich is also rigidly secured to the harp base.

In both instances the pad may be adjusted laterally either along thehinge pin .21-

shown in Fig. 8 or along the guide loop 23- shown in ,Fig. 11 to conformto the position of the leg relatively to the harp.

In placing the harp in position upon the body, it is simply necessary tothrow the strap or body loop 1 around the righthand shoulder and to thenlift the harp into proper position and attach the upper hook -4 andlower clasp 6 to their respective shoulders a and stud 8 after which thebody brace 2 may be placed in operative engagement with thecorresponding shoulders -a with the plate 9 resting against the front ofthe body, the body brace being held in position against downwarddisplacement by the proper adjustment of the locking member 14.,whereupon the harp is ready for playing either in a sitting or standingposture. In reverse'manner the body loop and brace may be detached fromthe harp and the latter used in the usual manner, under which conditionsthe leg pad 3 may be removed entirely or shifted under the base and thesection 19-- folded upwardly against the section -16 out of the way.

What I claim is: f

1. In combination with a harp-column having openings therein, a bracehaving a laterally extending curved plate for engagement with the bodyof the player and arms rigidly secured to the plate and provided withattaching members entering the openings and engaged with theharp-column.

2. In combination with a harp-column having transverse bars spaced apartone above the other, a brace having a laterally extending curved platefor engaging the body of a player, and forwardly diverging arms rigidlysecured to the plate and having their forward ends hook-shaped andengaged with the undersides of said bars.

3. In combination with a harp-column, a brace having a laterallyelongated plate and forwardly diverging arms rigidly secured thereto andhaving their front ends attached to the harp-column, the lower armprojecting forwardly beyond the vertical plane of the upper arm when inuse.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set 15 my hand on this 27th day ofDecember, 1911.

MELVILLE A. CLARK.

Witnesses:

H. E. CHASE, E. F. TUCKER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained or iive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

